7: Poverty as shown through these images is an issue that has been plaguing America and the rest of the world since the beginning of time. Never before have we seen such a gap between the rich and the poor and it has been a long time since we have seen this many families and individuals living below the poverty line. From the time when people began immigrating to America to present day there has always been the rich and unfortunately there has also always been the poor and less fortunate. What causes this gigantic gap between the rich and the poor? Why can we live in a utopian society where wealthy is as equally distributed as possible? This is a social problem that has been and will continue to be discussed for many years to come. It is easy to see that yes some jobs are more important and crucial to society than others but why must the people who have these jobs get paid so incredibly well and the people on the opposite end of the spectrum get make bread crumbs compared to them? The poverty epidemic going on in our generation is something that always baffles me. Unemployment rates continue to increase just as the amount of people living below the poverty line increases .When I start to think about which of the four sociological perspectives goes hand and hand with this issue I come to the conclusion that I can relate mostly to the conflict perspective on this issue.

8: People who relate with the conflict perspective on this issue believe that a greater group, moreover a more powerful group, keeps this gap between the rich and the poor and in this situation keeps these people in poverty in order to maintain their power and control over the masses. When I think about this issue I cannot help but agree. When you think about who has the power in this country it is easy to see that correlation between how deep your pockets are and how much power you have is undeniable. We see the CEO’s and presidents of major Fortune 500 companies making unbelievable salaries that could provide for hundreds and thousands of people while the majority of the work force is scratching and fighting to make ends meet .When I look at the gap between the upper and lower classes, even the gap between the upper class and the middle class as well, I see it as a fence or barrier used to keep the so called “riff raff” out. That gap between classes is not something that is a coincidence or something that just exists in the nature of things but moreover is something that is created by the upper class and the elite. The elite are the people who create the jobs and who designate who gets paid what and knowing that they have that power they use it to create that invisible barrier. Some of them worked to get their power and some of them were spoon fed their status from birth but either way they will do what they must to keep their power. I believe that is the basis of most all conflict perspective theories isn’t it?